Steven Santieri
Steven Santieri is a proud member of the Gotham City Police Department. He was born in Gotham City and has lived in the city all his life. A resourceful, dependable person, he's worked in law enforcement all his life, a third generation police officer. Biography Early Life Steven Santieri was born in Gotham City on December 23rd, 1980, to Giovanni and Carla Santieri. His father was a Police Officer, a Lieutenant in the force, while his mother was a homemaker. He grew up in a household that upheld and valued the law. His father was in the Gotham City Police Department, and he had a grandfather who had been a police chief. His uncles were either police officers or firefighters. An only child, he grew up in a house full of love and knew from an early age that he was going to be a police officer like his father and relatives. Growing up in a house with people who had done prior service in some branch of the nation's armed forces as well as the police departments of various cities, Steven learned how to shoot early in life. His father taught him the respect that was due to the gun, the power in it that was placed in the wielder's hands. His mother, who disapproved of guns, made sure to constantly tell her son that he was going to become a politician and outlaw guns completely. He had the grades to do it. Steven excelled in school, but also in getting sent to the principal's office. He often got into fights with other students, for no reason, but generally speaking he did it to protect others from bullies. It was for this reason that he never really got into serious trouble with the principal, who usually just let him off with a "warning". More often than not, Steven got thanked by the principal for helping with the discipline problems of the school. Steven was a good student, and this part of him didn't diminish when he got into high school. His schedule got busier, as he start playing sports, particularly football. After high school, he went into the Army for four years, using the time to pay for a college education. He got his bachelor's degree in business and after the Army, where he went up to the rank of Captain, he returned to Gotham City. Becoming a Police Officer Steven already knew what he was going to do when he got back to Gotham City. He was going to go into his father's profession. His family's profession. He was going to serve as a police officer in the Gotham City Police Department. The paperwork took no time at all, since he had more than a few members of his family in the force already. In addition, the fact that he was a former Army officer, honorably discharged didn't hurt either. Soon, he was working cases and doing his part to bring down the level of crime in Gotham City. His father was the proudest of him out of all of his family. He was incredibly happy to see his son follow in his footsteps and the footsteps of many of the family members. Steven's mother understood that he was doing what he had to do, but worried nonetheless. Steven slowly began to take on tougher and tougher cases as he worked his way into the detective program. One of his first major cases was breaking up a ring of criminals who kidnapped young girls and sold them into slavery and prostitution. It was the first time that Steven heard the name Michael Vitale. He had circumstantial evidence that linked the son of the Don of Gotham's current ruling Mafia family to the slavery and prostitution ring. But it was circumstantial and wouldn't hold up in court, so he was unable to take the man down. He knew then that the Vitale's had to go. They had their hands in almost everything in Gotham. The only person who was involved in more was Isaiah Muir, but he was on the legitimate side of things. There was nothing wrong with what he was doing. There was something definitely wrong with what the Vitale's were doing. More and more cases began to link to them, and Steven knew that they were building up to a big showdown with the organized crime family. Apparently they knew it too, as the Don of the family invited Steven to his residence for a sit down. He wanted to make sure that there wouldn't be heat coming down on his family, something that Steven promised would happen. At first, Vitale attempted to bribe Steven, offering him three and a half million dollars to make the evidence go away and to give him the names of those working the big cases connected to the Vitale's. Steven refused, telling the man that there was no price at which he could be bought. Despite repeated attempts by the Mafia, he refused to do what they wanted him to do. Realizing that Steven would never cave, the Don knew that he hadn't met his match until he had met Steven. Santieri was determined to bring the Mafia down, no matter what it took. So he decided to put that resolve to the test. Steven's father wasn't that high up in the police organization, as he had turned down quite a few promotions. He was more than happy to work the beat, despite the pay incentives that would have come if he optioned for promotion. He was thrilled to see his son progress farther than he had though. He knew that the police force needed officers on the streets just as much as they needed detectives to go after the bigger organizations and problems. Someone had to worry about the little guy and for Steven's father, he was that someone. Vitale knew this, through his corrupt contacts in the Gotham City Police Department. He also knew that Steven's father went above and beyond what was required of him to help the people of Gotham City. So he decided to create a situation where Steven's father would be called to a disturbance. His son staged a hostage situation at a well known bank connected to Wayne Financial. The criminals broke in and began to ensure that the robbery and hostage situation would be taken for real. Deposits were emptied, safety boxes taken, everything and anything to cause noise. They took a total of a hundred and seven hostages in the bank. Steven's father was one of the officers called to set up the perimeter. Michael Vitale himself had nothing to do with the incident. He had set it up, but wasn't present at the bank itself, in case things took a turn for the worse. However, that had been the plan, until Michael had realized what his father wanted to happen. Then he made sure, despite the risk, that he was there. The Mafia's plan worked, and things did take a turn for the worse, but only for the police. Eighty five of the hundred and seven hostages got out safely, but when the police and the SWAT teams stormed the building, the Mafia's hired hands had nasty things in store for them. Approximately ten Gotham City Police officers were killed, along with two SWAT officers. Among the total twelve dead was Steven's father, shot by Michael Vitale himself. He was rushed to the hospital after taking three rounds to the body. After a long and drawn out battle, he died in the hospital, in one of the most harrowing experiences of Steven's life, something that made him hate hospitals. He vowed at his father's deathbed to never give up the fight against the Vitale family and the Mafia until their stench was gone from Gotham City. Steven watched as the men who had done the crime and had basically killed his father were let off the hook by the judges who were in Vitale's pockets. Michael had gotten away and had not gotten caught, sohe knew that his father's killer was free and walking the streets. They weren't able to completely get them off the hook, that would have been a miracle. But they were able to get lighter sentences than they would have normally. Steven watched in despair as the system that he believed in, espoused, and defended worked against him to give these men the equivalent of a get out of jail free card. That would have been something to make people become vigilantes and to take the law into their own hands. Steven wasn't someone like that though. He had been raised to respect the law. While he respected and honored the man who had been the Batman, he knew that only in extreme cases could someone like Batman be accepted. When he had been around, things had been incredibly bad and he had fixed them to a great degree. Ever since he had left, things had gone downhill, and they were back to the way they had been. The police, Steven himself, were underfunded in their war against crime. Furthermore, whenever they got close and caught someone, the judges made sure that they got off the hook. But Steven made sure that he worked on that promise to bring the Vitale's down. A few years later, he was able to do just that. Eva Rodriguez It started out as a simple domestic disturbance call. Steven was the closest officer in the area, and so he answered the call. It wasn't the greatest part of Gotham City, but it wasn't the worst either. Steven expected it to be nothing more than some middle class family getting rough over some bills or perhaps a cheating spouse. What he found was something completely unexpected. He came to the apartment complex and entered. He went to the apartment in question and after repeatedly stating that he was an officer of the Gotham City Police Department, he got no answer. Steven entered the apartment and found that all the lights were out. After making his way into the apartment, Steven discovered what had happened. A man and his significant other had gotten into a fight. The woman had apparently decided to end things, rather brutally. She had used a shovel to cave the man's face in. Due to the extensive damage done to his face, Steven couldn't recognize the man. He didn't recognize the woman either. He did see that her clothes were torn, and that she had bruises and cuts. He also saw that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his entire life. She was breathtakingly beautiful, even with the bruises and abuse that she had clearly suffered. Once he had her put down the shovel, she told him everything. Her name was Eva Rodriguez and she had been suffering abuse from her boyfriend for years. He had raped her multiple times in the past and had been trying to do the same that night. She had defended herself. Steven tried to take his eyes off of the black haired Brazilian beauty, but he couldn't, until she told him who her fiance had been. Michael Vitale, the son of Francesco Vitale, the Don of the Vitale Family. Eva had killed the man directly responsible for the death of his father. Steven knew right then and there that no matter what happened, he would protect Eva. He knew that the Vitale’s were going to come after Eva. He told her that he was going to get her into protective police custody. Eva agreed, telling him that she would be willing to become a witness against the Vitale’s. While he had thought that she would be one of the many witnesses that they would probably get against the Vitale’s, Eva’s worth to the future trial grew by leaps and bounds. She had been the bookkeeper for the family. She had records of everything and they were all in the apartment with her, since it was Michael’s house. Santieri took her to the headquarters of the Gotham City Police Department. She was questioned by a few of the Police interrogators and she complied with everything that they asked. It was decided that she was going to be the star witness to the trial, since she was the one thing that could link everything together and prove that everyone had been in the places that their crimes had been committed. Even the FBI wanted to get involved, as they had been gunning for the Vitale crime family for some time. This meant that Eva needed to be protected. Despite the growing attraction that he had for the woman, Steven knew that it wasn't his job. He was a cop and his job was on the street. That was where he wanted to be. More Coming Soon Warzone Information Coming Soon Limitations Steven is a baseline human man and as such is subject to all those limitations and weaknesses. However, do to his time spent in the United States Army and his current status as a Gotham City Police Department officer, he maintains a very healthy physique and diet. He constantly works out to maintain his desired level of physical fitness. Abilities *'Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced):' Santieri served in the United States military and was trained in hand-to-hand combat. By his own account, his martial prowess was honed to the point that he could defeat a Green Beret in physical combat. *'Law:' Steven is proficient in all aspects of criminal detective work and police procedural matters. He also has a keen instinct in regards to the political aspects of managing his precinct of the Gotham City Police Department. *'Indomitable Will:' He has also shown remarkable strength of will and an ability to maintain his mental fortitude and sanity in situations when other characters such as Batman or Superman would have cracked. *'Leadership:' He is also an expert leader, having served as an officer in the United States Army. *'Marksmanship:' Santieri is one of the best shots in the Gotham City Police Department. *'Military Protocol:' In his youth, Steven served in the United States military. *'Multi-Lingual:' Steven knows Italian, and due to his time in the Gotham City Police Department, has picked up passable Spanish, German, and Russian. Due to his time around Eva Rodriguez, first as a witness that he was supposed to protect and then as her fiance, he has picked up the beginnings of Portuguese. Trivia Steven constantly battles an addiction to cigarettes. Despite his mother and his fiance wanting him to quit, he tends to use them as his go to stress reliever. His favorite color is blue. He does not like watching most police shows on tv, feeling that there's no need for him to be involved in something regarding the police in his off time. He also has a healthy dose of dislike for reality tv. His favorite recording artist is Frank Sinatra. Threads Active Threads Batman: Gotham City Police Department Past Threads Genesis: Let Him Take Flight Once More Batman: Bridging the Gap Category: MirrodinCategory: Males (WH)Category:CiviliansCategory: Mirrodin (WoH)Category: Gotham City Police DepartmentCategory: Gothamites